Gina Carano targeted for Dec. 17 Strikeforce event

Three months after the popular fighter was forced to withdraw from “Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum” at the behest of her personal doctor, sources close to negotiations tell MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that she is targeted to fight at an as-yet-unannounced Strikeforce event scheduled for Dec. 17. An opponent has yet to be determined.

A city and venue have yet to be announced for the event, though as MMAjunkie.com earlier reported, a lightweight title match between champ Gilbert Melendez and Jorge Masvidal is also expected to take place.

One source said Melendez vs. Masvidal will take main event status.

In early August, Carano was cleared by her doctor to resume training, though its unclear whether she’s currently in camp.

Carano (7-1 MMA, 0-1 SF) made an appearance this past July at Comic-Con – a yearly fan convention on comic books, video games and movies – to promote the upcoming action-thriller “Haywire.”

The fighter filmed the movie, which is directed by Academy Award-winning director Steven Soderbergh, this past fall alongside actors Channing Tatum, Ewan McGregor, Michael Douglas and Antonio Banderas. Carano has a starring role in the flick.

Carano, 29, has not fought since August 2009, when she took the first loss of her professional career in a bout against Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos for the then-vacant Strikeforce women’s featherweight title. The fight, which headlined “Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg,” peaked with 856,000 viewers on Showtime while the event averaged 576,000. Both were Strikeforce-Showtime records at the time.